Inza is a province located in Southwestern Colombia within the greater Department of Cauca. As you make the drive from La Plata to Inz, you follow the Rio Paez, and an eventual crossing over a suspension bridge lands you on the road to the the villages whose coffees make up this blend. Like much of Colombia, Cauca is home to some very high altitude farms, many breaching the 2000 meter mark. This particular lot is a blend of coffees from farms ranging 1700 - 2000+ meters, from a few of the neighboring Veredas within the region. The way we make up these regional blends is by cupping several samples from the individual farms, separating out those that meet a certain cup criteria, and then blending them together. It's a great benefit to us (and not to mention the cup) having this level of quality control with our Colombian blends. Wet processing is traditional in the region, many using old-style hand cranked pulpers, fermenting and washing in the same tank (the first pic is of a dual-use tank), and then drying out on raised, covered beds. This last part is key in facilitating even and gentle drying of the parchment, helping to keep the protective parchment layer intact as the internal moisture dips to 11% over the course of a few days to 2 weeks (depending on the micro-climate). Most farms have a healthy amount of Caturra planted, as well as some Timor hybrids (like Variedad Colombia and Tabi) in response to the major leaf rust outbreak in the 1980's. In cupping varietal separations we've found that cup quality is less tied to varietal than we imagined, meaning, we've found Timor hybrids that cup on par with Caturra at the same altitude. This is not always the case (there are rarely "one size fits all" examples in growing coffee!), but it is an important for us as buyers to keep in mind when approaching the ever-growing varietal debates.

City to City+, the dry fragrance displays a nice blend of dried cherry and panella sugar smells, an unrefined and slightly fruited sweetness. The wet aroma emits an ultra-thick smell of caramelizing sugar in butter, heavy caramel and honey aromatics. This is accompanied by a fruited smell too, grape, or maybe a bit more in the direction of raisin. dark fruit paste smell drifting up in the steam off the break. Malic to tartaric acidity makes a lasting impression on the cup profile, not overly bright, but a mouth-cleansing affect. Honey and burned sugar sweetness are central to the flavor profile in the light-to-middle roast ranges, and fruited top notes like apple and white grape juice come into focus as the cup cools. This is a truly delicious brewed cup, boasting this thick sweetness and mild fruit complexity all the way up to Full City, characteristics all staying well within balance (definitely aided by acidity). Full City roasts develop chocolate tones, and fruit flavors are of the dark and fleshier, stone fruit variety -plum, fig, and date. These deeper roast will double nicely as a single origin espresso too.